The Fertich family were tucking into home made hamburgers at their dining table when the sky suddenly went black.

Steve Fertich remembers thinking something was on fire but then the howling winds and flying debris brought home the reality that his family was in the path of a tornado.

"I could see a roof that was in the air so I ran and grabbed the kids. We all ran downstairs as everything was falling down," he says.

His children were "shaken up" but uninjured. The Ōhope house he had just finished building, was severely damaged.

The dining room walls have collapsed and the roof has been blown completely away.

Glass was broken in the force, fences toppled and their belongings thrown out into the harbour.

The dining room where the children were eating collapsed outwards, the seats about the only thing left intact.

Steve says the house was built strong and despite losing the roof, he was pleased with how the rest of the house withstood the power of the tornado.

"We were right in the middle of it," he says. "The house wasn't hit with anything it was just lifted away."

Steve says they are waiting on their insurance company to come and assess the damage.

Half of Steve Fertich's home was destroyed or blown away by the sudden tornado.

The children were eating dinner in the dining room moments before the storm hit.

Steve says the house was built strong to withstand the damage and still hold together after the storm.

-Stuff.co.nz/Matt Shand.